


The Romantic-Platonic Conundrum

by dualitas



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 13:52:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3136796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dualitas/pseuds/dualitas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shots on the friendship (romance?) between Aomine and Momoi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Five Pieces of Wisdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aomine realises how he feels about Momoi. Each of the Miracles offer his piece of advice to help him and Momoi with their relationship.

Aomine was lying face down on his bed when he received a phone call. He perked his head up, grabbing his phone.  
   
“Yo,” he mumbled blearily, voice muffled by his pillow.  
   
“Dai-chan.” Momoi’s voice. She sounded like she had a bad head-cold.   
  
Immediately, Aomine sat up on his bed. “Satsuki? What’s wrong.”  
   
“N-nothing.” She took several deep breaths. “It’s just…Tetsu-kun said something to me. I just…I can’t…Dai-chan— ”  
   
“What did Tetsu do— you know what? Never mind. Don’t tell me. I’m coming over.”  
   
“No, it’s fine, I just wanted to tell you that I can’t go shoe shopping with you later— ”  
   
Aomine hung up. Grabbing a leather jacket, he threw it on carelessly, striding out his front door at the same time. Within a few minutes, he was at Momoi’s house. Ignoring her front door, he went over to the metal piping running across the walls. Then he started climbing one of them. One creak, screech,  _shit! my jeans!_ later, and he was tapping at Momoi’s window. Hanging off the rusty piping with one hand, on the first floor of her house.  
   
“Oi, Satsuki. Open up.”  
   
There was no reply. He couldn’t see her anywhere.  
   
Grumbling to himself, he curled his fingers around the window frame, sliding it open. Then he tumbled into her room, an unceremonious pile of long limbs on her floor. Crap, he said.  
   
Momoi had been curled up on her bed, hugging a pillow. At the sight of him, she frowned.  
   
“I thought I told you not to do that anymore, Dai-chan. You’ll just injure your hands.” She got up from her bed, moving to Aomine. Crouching down next to him, she grabbed his hands to inspect them.  
   
“Ahh, never mind that, Satsuki,” he said impatiently, waving her off. “What did Tetsu do.” He leaned in, peering closely at Momoi’s face. Seeing slight dampness, he scowled at once.  
   
“He didn’t do anything, Dai-chan!” She shook her head, vehemently. “He was actually very sweet. You know I…” A few deep breaths. “I helped him search for a shop which sells affordable basketball equipment…because he asked…he wanted to recommend it to Seirin’s coach…Aida Riko. And then…”  
   
Momoi’s head was down, hair curtaining her face. “And then…he said I was a wonderful friend. The best one anyone could have.”  
   
Silence stretched for a moment. “Oh.” Aomine tried to clear his throat. “That’s…uh…” His throat was still stuck. He lifted a hand. It hovered near Momoi’s hair.  
   
“I’m not stupid, Dai-chan.” Her voice was remarkably clear, even face down. “He hadn’t actually felt anything for me, right? Tetsu-kun’s a gentleman, Tetsu-kun’s kind. He let me act this way all this while out of kindness. And now, he’s still being considerate. He’s telling me, as gently as he can, that it’s…it’s impossible. Dai-chan…I’ve been acting ridiculous, haven’t I?”  
   
The clarity in her voice wavered. “He’s been pitying me, hasn’t he? No.  _Everyone’s_ been pitying me, right, Dai-chan?”  
   
Aomine slowly placed Momoi’s hair behind her ear. He saw silent tears. Eyes widening, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her towards him. Her face fell against his chest, she let out a tiny sound. Good, thought Aomine, heart racing. Now I can’t see her crying.   
   
“No one’s been pitying you, Satsuki,” he said loudly. “Hell, I thought it annoying, more like, the way you kept hanging around Tetsu like that.”  
   
She let out a muffled sound of protest.  
   
“It was fucking annoying. But kinda impressive, too, I gotta admit. I mean, seriously, you never gave up. You just kept at it. Everyone should learn from you. Instead of pitying you. Now  _that’s_ you thinking something stupid.”  
   
“Dai-chan!” said Momoi, still muffled.  
   
“Hey, I’m just being honest here.” He shrugged.  
   
They stayed like that for a while, crouched on the floor. Aomine busied himself glancing around Momoi’s room. A4 papers charting his basketball progress over the years littered the walls, first in crude crayons (from their earlier days), then computer print. On the adjacent wall were charts on the Teikou team’s skills. Next to those were charts on Touou’s. On all these charts, his name, and his graphs, were bolded in permanent red marker. The significance of all this didn’t register in his mind. It wouldn’t register until later.   
   
Aomine glanced down. He smelt her hair. It had the fresh scent of cherry blossoms. His chest, where her head was, felt hot. Like he was hugging a small radiator which was very soft and smelt very good.    
   
“Oi, Satsuki,” he said. He jerked his head towards her bed. “I see you’ve bought new panties. You’re seriously bold, aren’t you? I mean, polka dots, lace and ribbons all on one piece?”  
   
Momoi shoved him away at once. “Pervert!”  
   
He merely smirked. He had succeeded. A smile was now on Momoi’s lips.  
 

* * *

  
Aomine went to see Kuroko after that. It was only the natural thing to do. Momoi had cried, after all. They were in Maji Burger, he, Kuroko and Kagami, after one of his regular games with Kagami since the Winter Cup.  
   
“Shit, Tetsu, you  _knew,_ didn’t you?” growled Aomine. “Why the hell did you say something so careless?” He munched a cheeseburger, scowling.  
   
Kuroko sighed. “Yes, Aomine-kun. I have known for quite a while now. However, the reason I have spoken up only now is because I have gained recent knowledge of something else.”  
   
“Oh yeah? Was it worth making Satsuki cry?” Aomine’s scowl deepened.  
   
“I didn’t do it intentionally, Aomine-kun. I did it because I didn’t want to cause an unnecessarily chaotic social situation later on.”  
   
“Huh?” Both Aomine and Kagami stared at Kuroko.  
   
Kuroko took his time finishing his vanilla shake. Then he pointed at Aomine. “Aomine-kun. You have feelings for Momoi-san.”  
   
Silence for several minutes. Then Aomine groaned. “This  _again_? You should know better than anyone, Tetsu, you’ve known both of us since middle school. Satsuki’s only a childhood friend.”  
   
“It’s because I have known you both since middle school that I can perceive things have changed.”  
   
“Where the hell did this come from?” Grumbling, Aomine bit another cheeseburger, viciously.  
   
“The next time you spend time alone with Momoi-san, Aomine-kun, think of my words. You have feelings for her.”  
   
Rolling his eyes, Aomine continued chewing his burger.  
   
“Wait…so you guys actually aren’t dating?” said Kagami.  
   
“No!” Aomine spat food onto Kagami in vehemence. “Sheesh, you’re as dumb as you suck at basketball.”  
   
“H-hey! You suck too!”   
   
Before Kagami could say more, Kuroko spoke up, “Is there any point to your question, Kagami-kun?”  
   
Kagami glared at Aomine for a while. Then he said, “Yeah. I mean, I always just got the impression that Momoi was just, sort of, going through the motions with Kuroko. I thought she was his girlfriend, of course, but then, wasn’t that just in middle school? Then since she was always with you, Aomine, I kinda just assumed you were dating.”  
   
“Well, we aren’t, okay?! We’re just childhood friends! I just…I can’t  _think_ of dating her! Sheesh…” Aomine ran his fingers through his hair. “Both of you are insane.”  
   
“My advice to you, Aomine-kun,” said Kuroko patiently. “Is to decipher your feelings before it’s too late.”  
   
“I don’t have to do anything, because there  _are_ no feelings!” He was already practically yelling.  
   
“Just ask her out,” interjected Kagami bluntly. Kuroko and Aomine looked at him. Kuroko in contemplation, Aomine in exasperation.  
   
“What?” Kagami shrugged. “The way I see it, whether or not you like her, you both already hang around each other  _far_ too often. I’ve seen you do things together that’s just not…yeah. That’s not friendship to me. Dunno if it’s more than that, but you might as well label it  _something._ So just ask her out.”  
   
Aomine struggled to say something, then settled for stuffing another burger into his mouth. Kuroko continued looking at Kagami for a moment.  
   
“That was amazing, Kagami-kun,” said Kuroko, impressed. “Your thought process was so simple, it actually made logical sense.”  
   
“S-shut up, Kuroko!”

* * *

   
A few days later, this whole incident slipped Aomine’s mind. It happened common enough that he could shove it somewhere in the dusty corners of his mind (Mathematics and other such knowledge lay there). Even if it was Kuroko, of all people, who had mistaken his relationship with Momoi this time.  
   
He arrived at Momoi’s house, climbing up the pipes again to get into her room. Sliding the window open, he poked his head in.  
   
“Hey, Satsuki. Come on, let’s go. You promised that I won’t have to taste any of your awful cooking if I followed you to the fucking  _bookstore_  to get you  _recipe books._ I still don’t get it. How would getting recipe books improve your cooking? You should get a  _Cooking for Dummies_ book or something.”  
   
“I  _told_  you, I might be able to find a recipe I’m good at,” snapped Momoi. She turned to glare at him. “And I keep telling you, stop climbing up the pipes! You might hurt yourself! Sheesh…and what if I’m changing when you come in?”  
   
“Doesn’t matter, I’ve seen you naked so many times before, nothing would surprise me now.” Aomine shrugged, climbing into her room.  
   
“That was when we were little! Ugh…pervert…” Momoi frowned, shaking her head in disgust.  
   
“The fuck are you doing anyway?” He squatted next to her. She was sitting on the floor, shuffling piles of papers.  
   
“Don’t touch anything, Dai-chan! You’ll just mess everything up. These are all data on your skills and muscle development. This pile here,” she gestured at a stack, “it’s records of your current stats. And these here,” she gestured at another two stacks, “these are my projections on your improvements over the next two years. I’m organising them so that I can properly access the graphs I’ve made, and match them with some future calculations.”  
   
“Shit, that sounds boring.” Aomine yawned. “Can’t this wait till later? Come on, let’s go. I wanna get back in time to watch the NBA tonight.” He grabbed Momoi’s wrist, trying to pull her.  
   
“No, Dai-chan, it can’t.” Momoi pulled back her wrist. “I need the time to review the data. I’m worried I might’ve missed something out, or made a crucial mistake in my calculations…”  
   
“Ahh…I’m sure you didn’t. Come on. This isn’t important. Don’t you wanna improve your cooking skill? Let’s go.” He took her hand again, holding it more firmly.  
   
“This  _is_ important, Dai-chan! If I don’t get this right, I might mess up planning for your improvement at basketball!” Momoi tried, unsuccessfully, to pull her hand out of his grasp.   
   
As Momoi struggled with his grip, Aomine stared at her. “What the hell, Satsuki.” Why was she making such a big deal about this? He glanced at the papers still strewn around them. Then, looking up, his eyes caught sight of the papers decorating Momoi’s walls. The bolded print of his name, so many of them on so many papers, and what it meant hit him. Like a blast of fireworks in his face.       
   
All this time, he thought.  
   
All this time, Momoi had placed his improvement before herself. Since they were young. Whenever he excitedly told her he had jumped higher than before, she meticulously recorded it. That time in the room. When she was struggling to come to terms with the fact that Kuroko would never look at her romantically, she still cared enough to look at his hands. And now. She still cared about him more than herself, choosing his basketball improvement over her own interests.  
   
It took a very special person, to sacrifice so much, for another. For him, especially. All he did was laze around on rooftops and read gravure magazines.  
   
Aomine swallowed. His throat was suddenly dry.  
   
“Dai-chan, let go,” said Momoi irritatedly. She pulled her hand to emphasise her point.  
   
He released her immediately. His fingers tingled.  
   
“Just wait a few minutes, this’ll only take a moment.” Momoi went on rearranging the papers.   
   
Aomine nodded, mutely. He watched her organise the papers for several seconds. Each movement precise, thoughtful. Like the person she was. Somehow, this made him irritated.  
   
He took her hand, again. She looked up exasperatedly.  
   
“We’re going. Now,” he said. “You want that recipe book, don’t you?” He stood up, and with one swift motion, pulled her along with him. “I don’t want you to complain later when it goes out of stock or something.”  
   
“It’s a recipe book, Dai-chan, it won’t go out of stock! Dai-chan!”  
   
Ignoring her, he dragged her out of the house, all the way to the bookstore. Willingly, for the first time in his life.

* * *

   
So he had followed Kuroko’s advice. Now it was time he got some other perspectives. Aomine thought of Kise immediately. Out of everyone he knew, Kise was the best with girls. There had to be  _some_ reason Kise always had girls screaming for him at every match. No matter how annoying Aomine thought Kise really was.  
   
He crafted a very short text message (in the lines of ‘Oi, Kise. I like Satsuki. What should I do?’) and sent it off. Two minutes later, he received a reply. It seemed to go on forever, his thumb was sore after scrolling down and down and down. It went something like this:  
   
 _Oh Aomine-chi I knew it I knew it! I’m so so soo sooo soooo happy for you! [various smiley faces] I was frankly quite scared because you never seemed to realise how you really felt! You’re not the best at feelings and emotions after all! You’re really very clueless about these things! You just don’t understand people! Especially girls! You’re so hopeless! I had absolutely no faith in you!_  
   
Many insulting sentences, and several outlandish emoticons, later, Aomine managed to glean something useful from his text.  
   
 _Ok, so this is what you should do, Aomine-chi. Oh I’m so excited! So so soo sooo soooo excited! Right, Momoi-chi is the kind of girl who really likes to spend time with the people she cares about. Look at what she did with Kuroko-chi! All those towels and water bottles she gave him last time! From my vast and deep experience, girls like her would be overjoyed if you just show that you care about her. Do some thoughtful things! Shower her with gifts! Then, Aomine-chi, you can capture her heart. [five winky faces]_  
   
Aomine ignored the rest of the text on Kise’s life at Kaijou. He threw his phone to his side, lay face-down on his bed, and thought.  
   
A few days later, he knew what to do. He walked out of the Touou school grounds, Momoi by his side. She was, as usual, lecturing him on basketball training.  
   
“You know, Dai-chan, I think you should practise formations more. We’ve been trying to improve team coordination around player-specific specialities after all.”  
   
“Mm.”  
   
“I think you should also try to practise passing more.”  
   
“Hmm.”  
   
“I also think you should try to get along with Wakamatsu-senpai.”  
   
“Mm…”  
   
“You should take him out for meals.”  
   
“Mm.”  
   
“Or maybe buy him a diamond ring, Dai-chan.”  
   
“Sure.”  
   
“Dai-chan! You’re not listening to me!” Momoi pulled Aomine’s shirt, stomping her foot.  
   
Blinking once, Aomine stopped walking. He looked at Momoi, who was frowning at him, for a moment.  
   
Then Aomine said, “Oi, Satsuki. Come with me for a sec.” He took her hand, dragging her with him.  
   
“Huh? Dai-chan! Wait!”  
   
Momoi’s hand in his, Aomine went with her to a toy store. He brought her to the shelf displaying teddy bears. Only once they were in front of it, he let go of her hand.   
   
Scratching his head, he said, “Look. Pick one.”  
   
“…I’m sorry?” said Momoi.  
   
“I…uh…wanna get you a…teddy bear. So just pick whichever you want.” Awkwardly, he spread out a hand like he was an auctioneer for the bears.  
   
“Huh?! Why all of a sudden, Dai-chan?!”  
   
“You know…you haven’t been all that happy lately…” Aomine mumbled.  
   
A few seconds of silence.  
   
Then, with his eyes squeezed shut, Aomine said, “Damn it, just pick one already, Satsuki!”  
   
Rolling her eyes, Momoi said, “Fine. Sheesh, Dai-chan, you’re acting so weird…” She looked at the bears. After several seconds of thought, she pointed at one. “This one, then. It’s cute!”  
   
Aomine nodded. “Okay.”  
   
After that, they moved to a nearby park. Aomine bought them both ice cream. Sitting side by side on the bench, the teddy bear (large and cuddly like all teddy bears) between them, they licked their ice cream in silence. A bird flew over their heads. A puppy frolicked by. Then a ball rolled in front of them. A child came to pick it up, then went away.  
   
As though that was cue for conversation, Momoi spoke up. “Thanks for the teddy bear, Dai-chan.”  
   
“No problem. I…uh…just wanted to give you…” In his mind, Aomine saw Kise’s text, the words ‘ _thoughtful things!’_ and ‘ _gifts!’._ He gulped. “…something.”   
   
Momoi giggled. “I have no idea what to do with it, though.” She patted the bear on its head fondly. “What do people  _do_  with teddy bears?”   
   
“You’re asking  _me_?!”  
   
She laughed, again. A few seconds of silence passed. Then Momoi said, “I never had a soft toy growing up. Did you ever realise that, Dai-chan?”  
   
“…Nah, not really.”  
   
“Do you want to know why?”  
   
Aomine shrugged. “Sure.”  
   
“It’s because the first soft toy I ever had, you ruined it, Dai-chan.” Momoi smiled, her eyes narrowing. Aomine could see her eyelashes draping over her eyes, like tiny dandelion seeds. He suddenly wanted to smoothen them. Gently, with his thumb. The desire was so strong, he looked away.  
   
“Did I?” His voice sounded funny.  
   
“Yeah! You painted my white plush puppy blue, remember? All because I took your piece of chocolate by mistake.”  
   
“Oh.”  
   
“Yeah. And I had apologised so many times, too!” Momoi tilted her head in thought. “Hmm. I think I never got another soft toy again out of trauma.”  
   
“…Sorry ‘bout that,” said Aomine, awkwardly.  
   
“What?! Why are you apologising, Dai-chan? You’re really acting weird.” She glanced at him sideways, then exhaled. “Anyway, things like that don’t matter anymore. It was just a soft toy.”  
   
Aomine’s heart sank. It was like his insides were being emptied. “Just a soft toy, huh?” he said.  
   
“Yeah.” Momoi waved a hand. “I don’t put too much stock in things like that.”  
   
“…I see.”  
   
Later that day, Aomine viciously deleted Kise’s text. Then he threw himself onto his bed, face down. Stupid Kise! His advice didn’t help at all, he thought. How the hell is he even this popular with girls? Aomine punched a fist down on his bed. Kise had mistakenly thought something like gifts would win girls over. But Momoi was one of a kind. She cared about things other than soft toys. They were unlikely to impress her. He was sure she would forget all about that gift soon. Anyway, Aomine concluded, I’m not gonna ask anyone else for help anymore. If stupid Kise couldn’t help, there was no way anyone else could.  
   
He rubbed his eyes wearily. Then, his phone vibrated. He glanced at it.  
   
Midorima?!  
   
Jaw dropping, Aomine scrambled to open the message. It was yet another essay-length text. Groaning, Aomine scrolled through it.  
   
‘ _Aomine. Kise informed me that you harbour feelings more than friendship for Momoi. He was none too quiet about it. He came to Shuutoku merely to inform me in person. It was very annoying. He shouted down the gym. My whole team knows about it as well. I wanted to berate you. Couldn’t you have kept something like this private? Did you necessarily have to inform Kise? Why couldn’t you have considered the repercussions of your actions? Did you know you caused an inconvenience for myself, and my team?_  
   
Aomine scrolled down several paragraphs. Then —  
   
 _About you and Momoi. I find it difficult to believe Momoi would ever respond to your feelings. I see nothing pleasant about you. You will have an arduous time attempting to woo her. Nevertheless. Back in Teikou, I never knew of Momoi’s feelings for Kuroko. I did, however, observe both of your constant proximities to each other. Something like that is difficult not to notice. Hence. If you are…pursuing anything tomorrow, make sure to bring a yellow diary. If you do it the next day, wear red sandals. If it is the day after that, wear a sleeveless black shirt. Also. Look up these three shrines. Tokyo Daijingu. [link]. Imado Jinja. [link]. Izumo Taisha. [link]. They may be of interest to you._  
   
Once he reached the end of the message, Aomine massaged his thumb. Then he clicked on the links. Looking through them, Aomine groaned. Love shrines?! Divine romance? Shutting off his phone, Aomine threw himself onto his bed once more.  
   
Well, he mumbled to himself, might as well try to appeal to the gods for something like this. He refused to admit that Midorima might be right about his ‘arduous time attempting to woo’ Momoi. He was charming, damn it.   
 

* * *

Two days after receiving Midorima’s text, Aomine was waiting outside Momoi’s house. Only a few minutes later, she came out, grumbling.  
   
“Sheesh, Dai-chan, I don’t know why you want to visit a shrine all of a sudden. There’s not even a special occasion. And couldn’t you have gone by yourself? Why did you have to bring me along? It’s not like you need me there to— ” Momoi cut herself off when she looked at Aomine’s feet.  
   
“Dai-chan,” she said. “You bought new shoes? I’ve never seen you wear these red sandals before!”  
   
“Er…yeah. They were…on sale. So I just got them.”  
   
“Hmm.” Momoi frowned. “I never knew you liked footwear like these.”  
   
“Anyway,” said Aomine hastily, taking her hand. “Let’s just go, alright?”  
   
Half an hour later, they were at Tokyo Daijingu. When they arrived at the entrance, a tiny frown took shape on Momoi’s face.  
   
“Dai-chan,” she said. “Why did you choose this shrine out of all shrines in Tokyo?”  
   
“Oh. This shrine. It’s one of the most powerful and famous…um. Love shrines.” Aomine cleared his throat, hoping she got the hint. He was instead surprised when her frown deepened. Did it upset her that much to know he had feelings for her? Suddenly, he was unsure. He wanted to turn back, forget about the shrine. But Momoi went ahead, towards one of the stalls in the shrine grounds. Aomine followed her.  
   
As he stood next to her, she said, “So, Dai-chan? You want me to get one of these love charms, right?”  
   
“Er…what?” he said, confusedly.  
   
“You think that one of these charms will help me get over Tetsu-kun, don’t you?” Momoi sounded weary. “That’s why you brought me here. You think it’ll help me.”   
   
What?! Aomine screamed in his mind. No! Inwardly, he cursed Midorima. It’s all your damn fault she misunderstood! He hoped Cancers would rank last in Oha Asa for the next few years.  
   
Momoi looked at the priest manning the stall. “Excuse me, please can I have a love charm?”  
   
“Of course, of course!” the priest replied jovially. He held up one. “ _This_  love charm can hold a picture of your beloved. Look.” He fiddled with the charm and it opened like a locket. “If this isn’t to your liking, this other one can make it promising for you to find new love.” He gestured at another colourful love charm.  
   
“I’ll take the second one,” Momoi said. She reached into her bag to take out her purse.  
   
Aomine found his voice. “Wait!”   
   
The priest and Momoi stared at him.  
   
Reaching for the charms, he fumbled for his wallet with his other hand at the same time. Then he said, “We’ll take both those charms. And two of the locket one.”  
   
“Huh?” Momoi widened her eyes. “What are you thinking, Dai-chan? I don’t understand…what are you doing now?”  
   
“Um…” Aomine thanked the priest as he took the charms. Then he turned to Momoi. “Come on. Let’s go over here.” He grabbed her hand, taking her to one of the benches on the grounds.   
   
Once they sat, he looked at her. Directly into her eyes. He saw her delicate eyelashes, felt the desire to smoothen them. To run his fingers past them, down her cheeks, down her neck. To run his thumb over her lips.     
   
He laid out the charms between them. “Satsuki. These two charms are for you.” He held out the locket charm and the one representing new love.   
   
“This one is for me.” He kept the other locket charm towards him.   
   
Momoi’s eyes were wide. He saw the slow beginnings of realisation in them. It filled her eyes like a drop of red liquid had just fallen into a clear pond.   
   
“This charm representing new love, like you said, it’s to help you get over Tetsu,” Aomine decided to explain anyway. His heart was beating too hard, so he had to keep talking. “But then this locket charm is to keep a picture of your new special person. And I have one, too, to keep a picture of  _my…_ uh…special person. See what I mean?”  
   
Momoi remained silent.  
   
“The reason we both have a locket charm at the same time, it’s…uh…because…” Now he was sweating. It wasn’t even that hot. “…because…um…” Aomine swallowed.   
   
Momoi was still silent.  
   
“…do you really need me to spell it out?” Aomine hoped she could read his mind, like she always could, ever since they were little. Several seconds passed.  
   
Then abruptly, Momoi stood up from the bench. “I need to go home now,” she said. “ _Kaa-san_ is expecting me for dinner.” Her voice sounded strange, like she was speaking through a cotton-filled loudspeaker. Momoi took the charms Aomine gave her, tucking them into her bag. “Thank you for these charms, Dai-chan.” She smiled at him. The smile was strange, too.  
   
“Yeah, of course.” Aomine quickly stood up. “No problem, Satsuki.”  
   
They walked out of the shrine, back to their houses in silence. Later that night, Aomine would remember a moment during their journey home with searing clarity. As Momoi was about to step across a road, the traffic light for pedestrians changed from green to red. With his usual casualness, Aomine took Momoi’s hand, pulling her back from the road. She fell back safely on the sidewalk. But he caught a glimpse of her face. She had winced. In the exact moment his hand had made contact with hers.  
   
Aomine lay unmoving on his bed that night, a forearm covering his eyes.  
 

* * *

  
Aomine hardly ever saw Momoi for the next few days after that. It was obvious. She was avoiding him. It may only have been two, or three, days since he last spoke to her. But it felt unendurably long, to Aomine. He had never gone that long without speaking to her.  
   
“Oi, Satsuki,” Aomine said to her in their classroom, one evening after school. “Wanna go shoe shopping with me now? I think I wore out one of my sports shoes—”  
   
“Sorry Dai-chan, I have to see Wakamatsu-senpai about something now!” Momoi replied, too cheerfully. Then she practically ran out of the classroom.  
   
Aomine could only stare at her rapidly retreating back. Once she disappeared, he kicked the desk next to him, hard. It fell to the floor with a crash.  
   
Hands shoved in his pockets, Aomine stomped back home. A few public bins were overturned as he made his way back. He was about to kick one more, when his phone rang.  
   
Scowling, he shoved it to his ear. “What?”  
   
“Mine-chin…why are you so angry?” Aomine heard sounds of chewing.  
   
“Murasakibara.” Sighing, Aomine shifted the phone to his other ear. “What’s up.”  
   
“I tried a new Pocky flavour the other day,” said Murasakibara conversationally, in between chews. “It was really nice…you should try it.”  
   
“Yeah. Sure. Okay.”  
   
“It’s melon flavour.”  
   
“Fine. Whatever.”  
   
“Make sure you try it, okay?”  
   
“ _Yes…_ I will. Bye then.” Aomine was about to hang up, when Murasakibara said something else.  
   
“Congratulations, by the way, Mine-chin. I heard you got a girlfriend. Sa-chin, right?”  
   
“What?!” Aomine’s eyes bulged. “Where did you hear that?”  
   
“Mido-chin.” More chewing sounds. “He said something like fates or stars or maybe something else were lined up for a Mine-chin romance, especially if you went to a shrine. Then I asked him who would be patient enough to spend time with Mine-chin? Mine-chin is annoying, after all. I want to crush Mine-chin sometimes.”  
   
“Oi!”  
   
“Then Mido-chin said, who else?” continued Murasakibara. “The answer was obvious, then. Sa-chin. You both were always together. So of course she would end up being your girlfriend.”  
   
A lump rose in Aomine’s throat. “It’s not as simple as that, Murasakibara. She’s not my girlfriend. I…uh…” He looked down, kicking a stone on the road. “I don’t think she feels the same way as I do.”  
   
“Hmm. Really?” Chewing sounds, again. “That’s strange. Sa-chin always cares about you, doesn’t she?”  
   
“Yeah…but just because she cares about me doesn’t mean she likes me that way, alright? People aren’t so simple. There’s such thing as complex emotions and shit.”  
   
“Mm. Really?”  
   
“Yeah.”  
   
“Why?”  
   
“I don’t know!” Aomine’s grip on the phone tightened. “I don’t understand it, okay? I’m not too good at these things!”  
   
“Oh. I don’t understand it either.”  
   
Aomine snorted. “No kidding.”  
   
“But…Mine-chin.” This time, Aomine heard crackling sounds of a wrapper being crumpled. “Aren’t you overcomplicating things? Both you and Sa-chin. I think things can be much simpler than the stuff you’ve been saying. Just talk to her, Mine-chin.”  
   
Aomine fell silent.  
   
“Sa-chin is special,” said Murasakibara. “She won’t let your stupidity mess things up between you.”

“Hey! I’m not stupid!” Aomine gritted his teeth. “Asshole…”  
   
“Eh…whatever. I don’t understand much of everything you’ve been telling me. All I know is that no matter how much Mine-chin screws up, Sa-chin will always forgive him. That’s what I understand.”  
   
Aomine was silent, again.  
   
“Bye, Mine-chin.” The line went dead.  
   
Aomine pocketed his phone. He stood there, on the street, until the street lamps started being lit. Then he started walking. On the way to his house, Aomine passed by Momoi’s. He looked up, glancing at her window. Her room was dark. No sign of light could be seen.  
   
Swallowing, Aomine looked away. He kept his eyes on the ground as he trudged back to his house.

* * *

   
It was that very same evening when Momoi received a phone call. She was chewing her lip, looking at the locket love charm on one hand and the other charm on her other, when the call came. Jumping slightly, she reached for her phone and answered on the third ring.  
   
“…Hello? Momoi Satsuki speaking.”  
   
“Momoi. It’s Akashi.”  
   
Spontaneously, she let out a squeak. “Akashi-kun?!” She cleared her throat. “What a surprise. Is there anything I can do for you?”  
   
“No. I’m not calling you to request for your assistance. It’s for another matter. Momoi, I heard the status quo of your current relationship with Aomine is changing?”  
   
Momoi pictured the look in Aomine’s eyes when he gave her the charms. The intensity of it, like a tiny point of bright light in a space of infinite darkness.   
   
“Where did you hear that, Akashi-kun?” she said, voice hoarse.  
   
She heard him sigh. “Let me put it this way. Once Kise knows something, it’s only a matter of time before everyone else knows. Never mind that, Momoi. I understand that Aomine has put forth a confession of a sort?”  
   
“…Yeah.” Momoi fiddled with her fringe, placing it behind her ear. “He didn’t say it out loud…but he didn’t have to.”  
   
“Hm. But, if I may hazard a guess, you both are still not in a romantic relationship?” He sounded like he was wrapping each word in precise, careful tones.   
   
Momoi reddened. She couldn’t believe she was talking about this with  _Akashi._ “…No, Akashi-kun, we’re not.” She closed her eyes.  
   
“I see. Momoi, you do not reciprocate his feelings?”  
   
“I don’t know!” Her blush intensified. “With Dai-chan, something like this is complicated. We’re childhood friends! He annoys me all the time. He’s so immature, he’s a jerk. I’ve witnessed him do some  _horribly_  embarrassing things. How can I look at him in any other way? And also…” Momoi swallowed. “I like Tetsu-kun…”   
   
Or was it ‘liked’? Momoi couldn’t be sure.   
   
“Apologies if this is tactless, Momoi, but wasn’t that merely a middle school crush?”  
   
“No, it wasn’t! Isn’t! I really did like him—  _do_ like him!”  
   
Silence stretched between them for a moment. Then Akashi said, “I see. If that is the case, then I believe you should explain all this to Aomine, pick this apart with him. Murasakibara has already advised Aomine to talk this out with you, Momoi.”  
   
“What?!”  
   
“Unfortunately, I don’t have any confidence in Aomine’s ability to hold a conversation of this nature. To put it very mildly, talking is not one of his best suits. It might not even be one of his moderate suits. Actually, I’m surprised he can converse with any individual at all without inciting the desire to hit him.”   
   
Momoi inwardly agreed.  
   
“Hence I intended to inform you of his upcoming attempt at a conversation with you. Please use that opportunity to explain your position to him. For all his many flaws, Aomine deserves that from you. Avoiding him is cowardly, and insulting to your many years of friendship.”  
   
Momoi winced. After a quiet goodbye, Akashi hung up. Momoi looked at her phone for several seconds. That conversation was all Akashi-kun. Logical, brusque, and ruthlessly direct. With an undercurrent of concern.  
   
She sighed. Now she had to wait until Aomine came, awkward and ineloquent, to talk to her.

* * *

  
When the conversation came round, it was only because Momoi had nowhere to run away even if she wanted to. It was raining after school. Rushing to get to school earlier that morning, Momoi had forgotten to bring an umbrella. She was staring desolately out at the rain, classmates heading back home with their own umbrellas, when Aomine went to her side, elbowing her arm.  
   
“Hey, Satsuki. Can we talk?”  
   
They went to the school bench, sat side by side. After a few minutes of silence, Aomine took a deep breath.   
   
“So…uh…the other day. When I gave you those charms. Did it…” He cleared his throat. “Did it freak you out that much?”   
   
“I wasn’t freaked out…as much as I was confused,” Momoi replied. Her knees twitched. The way Aomine was sitting, his were touching hers.  
   
“Oh. So…that means…”  
   
“Don’t you think it’s weird, too, Dai-chan?” Momoi looked at him imploringly. “We’ve done all sorts of embarrassing things together. We’ve  _bathed_ together. P-peed in oceans and swimming pools together. Gotten spanked by both of our mothers together. How can you possibly think of a romance between us, after all that?”  
   
“Uh…” Aomine scratched his head. “Why not? So what if we’ve done all that? Doesn’t change the way I feel…” he mumbled.  
   
“It’s  _weird._ It’s not  _romantic,_ ” Momoi said. “Remember that one and only time you gave me a birthday gift? The box was filled with dead cockroaches! How can you switch to giving me…I don’t know,  _chocolates,_ after that? I’ll remember those cockroaches every single time you give me a present!”  
   
“Hey, I gave you a teddy bear,” said Aomine defensively.   
   
“And after you gave it to me, I couldn’t help but think about the white-turned-blue plush puppy!”  
   
“You said you didn’t care about that anymore! Besides, why does all this matter? I don’t see what it has to do with us dating.”  
   
“It has everything to do with it! It’s our relationship, isn’t it?”  
   
“Sorry. Still don’t see it.”  
   
Momoi groaned, putting her face in her hands. Akashi-kun was right, she thought. Explaining her position was going to be difficult.   
   
“Is that why you like Tetsu?” Aomine spoke up after a few seconds. “He’s never done all those things I’ve done with you?”  
   
Her face still in her hands, Momoi said, “I like Tetsu-kun because he’s thoughtful, kind, mature. And yes, I think he would never have thought of all those things you’ve done.”    
   
“Oh.” His knee, touching hers, shuffled slightly.  
   
“Dai-chan…” Momoi began. Can’t we just return to the way things were, she wanted to say. But she couldn’t. It was physically ingrained in her not to hurt Dai-chan. And things couldn’t be the way they were. Not since he gave her those love charms.  
   
“…Fine,” said Aomine. Momoi looked up from her hands. He was smirking, but Momoi could tell it was merely a facade of confidence.   
   
“I’ll try to change the way I act, okay?” he said. “Then you’ll stop thinking of all the crap I did last time.”    
   
“If you do that, you won’t be Dai-chan anymore,” replied Momoi. “I don’t want that…” she added quietly.  
   
Silence descended over them. Like the black clouds from which rain was now cascading. There was never such a silence between them before. It made Momoi feel unbearably lonely.   
   
“Then…I guess…just forget about that day in the shrine.” Aomine’s smirk changed into merely a quirk in the lips. “Nothing happened. It was just a time spent between childhood friends. Nothing else.”  
   
His voice sounded unnatural to her. It shouldn’t be that way. This tone, and that silence, Momoi couldn’t bear it. She wanted all of it to stop. She wanted to erase everything. But that was impossible. The only path was forward.   
   
So Momoi made a decision. If forward was the only direction they both could go without things sinking into feigned laughs and awkward greetings, she would do it properly. She would do the natural next step.     
   
Momoi leaned in, and brushed her lips against Aomine’s. She caught a whiff of rain, tasted salty sweetness on his lips, before withdrawing from him. Aomine was so shocked he didn’t move a muscle.  
   
After five seconds, he stirred, a grin breaking out over his face. “Satsuki…you— ”  
   
“Do you remember that time you kissed me just to piss me off?” interrupted Momoi. “I was so angry with you, I didn’t talk to you for a whole day. Of course, even though it had only been a day, at the time it seemed so long. Intolerably long.” She smiled fondly. “All because we were arguing over whose turn it was to get the basketball magazine.”  
   
“ _That_ one I remember.” Aomine smirked. “Very, very clearly.”  
   
“That’s one memory which won’t affect our relationship from now on.”  
   
It took a few seconds for her words to register in Aomine’s mind. With his slow realisation, his grin widened. As it always did, his happiness made Momoi feel warm inside.   
   
“Are you saying we can date?!”  
   
“I’m saying it’s going to all kinds of weird,” said Momoi. She couldn’t keep a smile off her lips. “But essentially…yes.”  
   
“Awesome!”   
   
Momoi looked away from him, smiling at the rain instead. It was starting to let up. Then she heard Aomine clear his throat. Turning to him, she saw him holding out an umbrella.  
   
“Wanna head home?” he said, smirking.  
   
Rolling her eyes, Momoi replied, “Knew you had an umbrella, Dai-chan.” She stood up from the bench.   
   
As they walked out of the school grounds, Aomine said, “So don’t you think it was smart of me to bring an umbrella? You’re always nagging me to be prepared.”  
   
“This is a one-in-a-million incident, Dai-chan. I don’t expect it to happen ever again. Or at least for a really, really, really long time.”  
   
"Hey," Aomine said without bite. He opened his mouth to protest more. Before he could retort, however, she linked her hand, intertwining her fingers with his.


	2. Sand-covered Mementoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time capsule for ten-year-old Aomine and Momoi: a school bag filled with seemingly meaningless junk. Years later, they return to the place they buried it. But objects of the past can never inform what the future brings.

Writings in a sixteen-year-old Momoi’s diary:  _We all have places we want to return to someday, but somehow the places we’re at today always prevent us going back. I wish someone, sometime in the future, will drag me back there. Even if life tries to stop us._  
  
******  
  
The days you most want to start out normal usually don’t. Momoi confronts this truth that morning. Opening the door, she sees the unusual sight of Aomine all prepped and ready. She hasn’t even brushed her teeth.

“You ready?” he grunts.

“Gimme ten minutes.”

In half the time she usually takes to get ready, she’s out the door pulling on a sweater. It’s March so the weather’s still chilly. With her every breath, puffs of white mist float out too. They stop by a cafe to grab coffee and a few pastries before heading to the bus stop. On the way, Momoi digs through her backpack for the bus schedule she printed off last night. She starts to say, “I think the bus starts heading off at 8.30 —”

“It’s 8.07,” Aomine interrupts.

Momoi pauses, mid-search. “You’re right,” she says in wonder. “It  _is_ 8.07. Well done, Dai-chan.”

“Geez, Satsuki. I’m not stupid — I made sure to check it last night, okay?”

They soon reach the bus stop. Momoi hugs her coffee cup, drawing warmth through the smooth paper material. She tries not to think of the countless times they sat there together before and about how it’s all going to end.

 

*

 **T** hree months ago before they graduated high school, Aomine was approached by recruiters from the States. We watched your performance in the Winter Cup, they told him, and we’re incredibly impressed with your ability. They offered him a sports scholarship to study in Los Angeles. Momoi always knew this would happen. But knowing what would happen is different from knowing what to feel when it happens.     

Today’s the day before Aomine flies off. Momoi still doesn’t know how she feels about it.

*

 

 **T** he bus arrives and they file in. Momoi chooses a window seat and Aomine sits next to her, legs so long that they encroach into her personal space. Staring out the window, Momoi is struck by how green the trees out the window look already. I suppose the trees know when it’s spring, Momoi thinks, even if the weather forgets.

“Shit, it’s cold,” Aomine mumbles.

Momoi watches the rows of trees change into shop buildings as they drive through a town, then into sparse, wooden traditional houses. They’ve reached a seaside town. The bus passes by a shinto shrine dedicated to Ebisu and stops. As Momoi and Aomine get off, they’re hit by icy gusts of wind, tinged with salt and the smell of fish. Aomine curses, but Momoi only looks in admiration at the lush green forest backdrop of the Ebisu shrine.

“It’s as beautiful as ever!” she says, nudging Aomine. He grudgingly looks at the view and nods in agreement.

The seaside town was a holiday spot Momoi and Aomine visited eight years ago. It was, and still is, an untouched tourist spot. That summer was the one and only time they came here. For the summers after that: unfulfilled promises piled up, disguised under stacks of other priorities and more important matters. Aomine had a training camp. Momoi had to study for a test. They were both grounded for nearly causing a fire. Years passed — until today.

The evening after Aomine accepted the offer, he called Momoi. “Hey,” he said. “Remember the schoolbag we buried in that village when we were ten?”

Even Momoi had to take a few seconds before she remembered. “Oh yes!” she finally exclaimed. “Wow, that was such a long time ago. Why are you suddenly bringing it up now, Dai-chan?”

“Wanna go look for it after graduation?”

Momoi agreed. After graduation, however, things got busy. Aomine was preparing to move to the States, then Momoi started receiving offers from universities and had to choose between them. Time, as usual, sped up when Momoi most wanted it to slow down. Soon it was the week Aomine had to leave. Aomine then displayed firmness Momoi rarely saw in him. “Let’s go tomorrow,” he said to her two days before his flight. “We’ll go, or I’ll fucking come over and drag your ass all the way there.”

Momoi had thought at the time: Why do we remember the truly important things only when it’s nearly too late?

 The town is the kind of quiet only early mornings impart. Momoi hears, very clearly, the slapping of boats against the wooden pier. The birds are returning to their nests: their tunes cut through the cold air. Waves crash against the shore, and walking behind Aomine, Momoi feels a sudden profoundness well up inside. It’s like it’s just the two of us again in this whole wide world, she thinks, watching Aomine’s broad back in front of her.

They walk along the shore for a while as Aomine leads her to the place they’ve hidden the bag. There’s still no one around. Soon, they reach a small patch of dry shore, blocked from the waves thanks to an overturned boat. The boat’s broken and a faded red, but Momoi is grateful for its presence. Even broken things have meaning. If the boat hadn’t been there, that piece of land would’ve been overtaken by the waves and they wouldn’t be able to find their buried schoolbag.

Aomine starts digging with his fingers. Tying her hair into a ponytail, Momoi squats and helps him. Within minutes they’ve found the schoolbag. Momoi is struck by how shallow it had been in the ground — when they were ten, it seemed like the hole they dug was a literal abyss. As a child, everything seems larger than reality.

Aomine whoops, the sound echoing in the silence. He quickly unzips the bag, the zip catching slightly in its age. Then turning the bag upside down, he shakes out its contents.

“Shit, these are all rubbish,” says Aomine with a tone of marvel. “I can’t believe how stupid we were last time.”

“These were our treasures at least during that particular point in time,” Momoi disagrees. “Isn’t that enough?” She picks up a seashell from the many that had poured out, still smooth, still pure white.

“Look at this,” she says with a laugh. “Remember how we imagined this was a philosopher’s stone?”

“It wasn’t a philosopher’s stone, it was a bullet from my subatomic machine gun,” protests Aomine.

“Right. We argued over that for quite a while.” Momoi reaches out and takes a glass bottle with a crumpled piece of paper inside. “What was this?”

“It was the map of a mysterious, secret land, remember?” Aomine replies. “We were supposed to steal it from the receptionist of the resort we stayed in. He kept scolding us, so we made him into a villain in one of our escapades.”

“Oh yes! Makoto-san. I wonder what happened to him.” The people of the past always become strangers eventually, Momoi thinks.

“And this is the net I used to catch crayfish,” says Aomine, picking it up. “And urgh! Look at this!” His face scrunched up, Aomine gingerly picks up a stack of papers, stiff in some places, breaking apart in others.

“That’s a basketball magazine!” Momoi grabs it even though it’s now unrecognisable. “I can’t believe we thought it could last if we kept it underground.”

“This was the issue which featured a dunk,” Aomine recalls. “That’s why we wanted to keep it here.” He looks around at the items on the ground. “That’s it, isn’t it? Man, that’s not a lot of stuff. I seem to remember it being a whole lot more.”

“Me too.” Momoi picks up the seashell again, and smiles at it.

“Hey,” Aomine speaks up. Momoi looks at him; he’s sporting a serious expression. “Remember how we were supposed to add to this stuff every summer?”

“Yeah,” Momoi replies. “We’re supposed to collect things over the year, then return here to keep in the schoolbag. Our own little time capsule. I wonder what happened.” No — I do know, Momoi corrects herself internally, It’s because people never end up doing the things we say we want to do.

Aomine lets out a gush of breath, then sits down on the sand, leaning back on his palms. “I kinda wish we kept it up now.” There’s an uncharacteristic tone of wistfulness in his voice.

Momoi smiles. “Actually …” she begins. She digs inside her backpack, then pulls out a small paper box. Aomine stares at it, eyes wide.

“That’s —”

“It’s my very own box of memories!” Momoi says. “My own little time capsule-to-be, if you will.” She opens the box.

“These are the certificates we got during Teikou,” she explains, holding them up. Laying them aside, she picks up more items. “These are the articles featuring you throughout high school.”

Momoi continues lifting items and explaining them. Aomine is silent throughout. All he does is take them after Momoi is done, looks at them for a little while, then put them back into the box.

“These are photos of you I developed every time you achieved a new milestone, like a new height in your jumps or a new basketball technique mastered,” Momoi goes on. “These are the charms we bought after visiting the shrine last year. This is the receipt of the one time you bought me lunch, because that’s something to remember, of course. And  _this_  is the wrapper of the red bean bun Tetsu-kun bought for me. Oh, and the popsicle stick too, of course. And then this is the final photo we took after the Winter Cup in the first year —”

“Alright, Satsuki, I get it,” Aomine interrupts finally. “You’ve been collecting all sorts of stuff over the years.”

“Oh, sorry! Is this boring you?” Momoi quickly shuts the box. “Anyway, there’s no need to worry about not coming back here, because I’ve been collecting things. So it’s all good!”

Aomine is quiet for several seconds. Then he says, haltingly, “Since you’ve been collecting memories all this while, I want to ask you. Do you remember that conversation we had after the Interhigh last year?”

Now it’s Momoi’s turn to fall silent. “Of course,” she finally says. And she lets the memory that’s been lurking at the back of her mind to resurface, in full force.

 

*

 **T** he atmosphere was the unique kind reminiscent to winners: Touou had won the Interhigh. The entire stadium was overcome with cheers but the players on the court were in their own world. Aomine yelled, pumped his fist in the air, punched Sakurai in the shoulder, then ran over to Momoi.

Momoi, squealing and jumping up and down, said, “Dai-chan, congratulations —”

She was cut off when Aomine wrapped his arms around her, bodily lifting her off the floor. Crinkling her nose at his sweat and smell, Momoi opened her mouth to berate him. Then Aomine mumbled, his breath tickling her ear, “It’s thanks to you, too.”

This made her swallow all the words.

They later joined the Touou team at Maji Burger, where celebrations went on till the night became an even darker night. One by one, every team member left the diner. Finally, only Momoi and Aomine were left. Momoi was picking up the plastic cups and wiping spilt drinks, then Aomine slung an arm round her shoulder.

“Look, we finally got a gold medal!” he crowed, holding it up from his neck. “And here, it’s your victory too —” he pulled out the chain and threw it over Momoi’s neck so that they both wore the medal. 

“Dai-chan, stop it!” Momoi said, half-joking, half-serious. “You smell awful. You always do.”

Good-natured, Aomine took off the medal. “I’ll help you clean up,” he said, to Momoi’s surprise.

After an hour of wiping tables and mopping the floor, they sat opposite one another in the corner of the diner. The owner had left the keys with Momoi, trusting her to lock up once they were done. Sipping a Fanta orange juice, Momoi let herself slip into a state of contentment. The neon lights made her feel sleepy. She wanted to curl up in her plastic chair, and just nap there till morning. I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do, she thought, eyes half-closed. We’ve won the Interhigh, Dai-chan isn’t failing, and Touou’s in a good place. I can just slip away into nowhere, right here, and everything will still be perfect. She closed her eyes, and let the dark sweep her into a contented place.

Then Aomine said, “Hey, Satsuki.”

“Hm?” replied Momoi, eyes still closed. She heard a rustle, then Aomine touched her hand. This in itself was nothing unusual, so she merely went on, “What is it, Dai-chan?”

“I wanna ask you something.”

Momoi’s eyes flew open to see Aomine licking his lips. Suddenly, she thought the neon lights were too bright. Aomine appeared strange, under those lights. His eyes were wide and he was leaning over the table, towards her. He actually looked earnest. She never thought Aomine could look that way. When something unimaginable becomes real, everything seems unreal.

“Do you wanna go out with me?” he asked, even though there wasn’t any need to. Momoi could have deduced it from his eyes.

Time seemed to stand still after that question. Fear had that ability to distort time. Momoi couldn’t think or breathe. So Momoi switched to her default reaction for situations she couldn’t stand. She forced out a laugh.

“Don’t be silly, Dai-chan!” she said. She snatched her fingers from under his, and gave him a quick pat on the hand. “We go out all the time! The victory must’ve messed your head, you have to get it checked out.”

Then, not looking at him, she hopped off from her chair. “Let’s go home! It’s getting really late.”

She kept up an endless chatter all the way home. On her bed later that night, she dug her face into her pillow and forced sleep to come. Sleep, to her, was always temporary bliss when reality got too unbearable.

The next morning, Aomine acted like nothing had happened. So Momoi acted that way too. Inside her, Momoi knew, though: It’s always easier to ignore than to forget.

 

*

 

 **A** omine lets out a rustle as he searches his pocket, and this brings Momoi back into the present. He pulls out a napkin. On it is stamped the logo of Maji Burger.

“I didn’t forget about it either,” he mumbles. “I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. So I carried this around with me. To remind me not to act again.” He crumples it in his hand.

“I guess there isn’t any point to keeping it now that I’m leaving,” he says.

Momoi doesn’t reply immediately.

“I’m genuinely going to miss you, Dai-chan,” she says at last. “Really. I can’t imagine my life without nagging you all the time.”

“You still can.” Aomine smirks. “There’s Skype and Whatsapp.”

In response, Momoi smiles. She looks at the horizon. The sky is a lumpy grey with clouds and the ocean is a coarse grey with its rolling waves. There really isn’t any difference between the two. Only a sliver of pink, marking the rising sun, reveals the point where the ocean begins and the sky ends.  

Then Momoi feels warmth on her hand. She turns and sees Aomine looking exactly the same as he did that night.

“I’ll be honest,” he says. “I didn’t really bring the napkin all the way here just to crumple it and let things end. I brought it here to bury it in the time capsule so that I’ll always remember that night. Because I gotta try again.”

He pauses for a moment, then takes a breath. “Satsuki, will you go out with me? Fuck L.A. If you say yes, anything can happen. I’ll just stay here and play for the BJ league. Or you’ll come over with me. Seriously, I’ll make anything work. If you say no, though …”

Aomine trails off, and swallows. “I’ll forget about this for good. We can let things be, and I’ll go on doing my own stuff in L.A., while you do yours here.”

This is a lie, Momoi knows. For one final time, Aomine was laying his whole heart out. And there was only so much damage a human heart could take.

Aomine curls his fingers over hers on her lap. “So what do you say, huh?” he asks.

Momoi quietly thinks of her own Maji Burger napkin, hidden in the corner of her closet, underneath piles of clothes. Of course she had kept a memento. That moment was so significant, the one time she felt that her relationship with Aomine was terribly unreal. She’d always thought that even if the earth would crack open and swallow her, Aomine would remain who he was: her annoying, unpredictable best friend. But it was his unpredictability which made it entirely predictable she could eventually lose him.

What should she say? There were two choices. One word led to a world of many, many more sand-covered mementoes, all of them precious and valuable no matter where they were buried. The other meant the end of her time capsules, because to make a new one would be too painful, a constant reminder of what she no longer had. A universe of difference lay between what were only two little words. Words, Momoi realises, meant choices, and choices could be the start of something, or the end of everything.

Momoi looks into Aomine’s eyes. She clenches her hands, then says —

******

Writings in a twenty-one-year-old Momoi’s diary:  _Sometimes, the places of the past which we revisit have something new to say about the old. It could be something which creates an entirely new future. Or it could be something which destroys everything we had in the past. All it takes is a choice between two little words._


End file.
